Why
by Muzzy-Olorea
Summary: [BB] Set after [1.18 The Man In The Morgue] Brennan wants an answer but Booth thinks she’s not ready to hear it.


**Why**

**BB Set after S1 'The Man In The Morgue' Brennan wants an answer but Booth thinks she's not ready to hear it.**

_**Disclaimer: I have custody of my Muse and the plot but I humbly acknowledge that I have no jurisdiction over the characters themselves.**_

**A/N:- I love reading all your reviews. You guys are so brilliant and supportive!**

**My Muse appears to have taken up residence in this fandom for awhile which makes me very happy.**

**'Why' – Avril Lavigne**

"_**It proves something."**_

She had never had someone believe in her unconditionally the way Booth did. And it confused her. A lot.

After Booth had left the room and Brennan had gone into some kind of stupor staring at an earring, Angela had wasted no time in giving Hodgins and Zach a meaningful look. Hodgins seemed to understand and dragged Zach away before the young grad student had a chance to ask Dr. Brennan what it proves.

Satisfied that they were finally alone together, Angela shifted seats. "Sweetie I know I'm not devishly handsome and I don't own a gun but I _do_ know how to get on a plane so next time you get amnesia, hospitalised and arrested on a murder charge it would be nice if you let me know as well as Booth - even if the only thing I've got up on him is years of friendship with you."

Brennan gave her friend a tired, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't want you to worry. And I didn't call him to tell him to come down there."

"But he did anyway. Was he all knight-in-shining-armoury again?" Angela grinned.

Brennan gave a small laugh and ignored her as she stood up and walked over to her desk picking up some unfiled papers and rustling through them. She always tried to divert the subject whenever Angela started referring to Booth as anything other than the FBI Agent who was her partner. "He was ….. Booth." She said finally. "He pulled out a gun at the Detective who came to arrest me."

"Wow." Angela said admiringly.

"In the end I had to push past him so I could get arrested."

Angela shook her head with a smile. "You are one strange person Brennan." She paused and then looked at her friend with a cheeky grin on her face. "You know when you called and said that Booth was with you in New Orleans I really thought that you two-"

"I know what you thought." Brennan said, rolling her eyes.

"I mean can you blame me? You two have such strong chemistry it's going to explode some time and-"

"Not going to happen Ange. Time to move on." Brennan stated seriously. She was already having a hard time trying to analyse what was going on between her and her partner without Angela mixing things up even more.

"Fine." Angela said, relenting but then she spotted the small object which Brennan still clutched in her hand. "When Booth gave you your mother's earring back earlier you said that it proves something?"

"Yeah, it proves something. Not sure exactly what ……. But it's proof that he basically risked his entire professional career by believing that I was innocent."

Angela looked at her questioningly.

"I told Booth in passing how much the earring meant to me and when we were at the crime scene he must have seen it and picked it up …"

"Basically getting rid of evidence at a murder scene so you could get your lucky earring back? Gosh that has to be the most romantic thinganyone's ever done in a long time." Angela sighed softly. Brennan laughed slightly, thinking that her friend was being sarcastic. "I know you've refused to see it before – even though I'd say that the fact he insisted on rescuing you even though he had burns, broken bones and could barely stand was a big sign – but you have got to see how this shows how he feels about you."

Apparently she wasn't being sarcastic. "Ange, you're reading too much into it. We're close, maybe we even mean a lot to each other – but not in a romantic way." Brennan thought back to the conversation they'd had in the café in New Orleans. "I mean for example I asked Booth why he was so nice to me ….. his answer showed how strictly professional it is between us – he said it's because I help him catch the bastards who think they've got away with murder."

Angela laughed. "Sweetie that just confirms my argument not denies it." At the confused look on Brennan's face she continued. "I mean who really gives that as an answer unless he's trying to hide something? If he saw you purely as a friend or work partner then he would have no hesitation in saying something like 'I'm nice to you because I care about you / you mean a lot to me.' ….. Don't you see that by the very fact he tried to explain it in terms of the job meant that the real reason was just too hard for him to say?"

"That is some weird psychology." Brennan said doubtfully. She never really took whatever Angela said to heart but it did cause her to reflect on the conversation with Booth in the café and allow herself to entertain some irrational thoughts. There had definitely been some hesitation on his part when she had asked him why he was so nice to her and then there was the question of why he put so much faith in her in the first place and the way he was constantly protecting her ………………

Those irrational thoughts continued to haunt her all the way from her office to her car and for most of the drive home. What if Angela was right? What if he did have feelings for her? What if she let herself see him as something more than the person she worked with?

Most people would have taken their time finding out the answer, asking subtle questions, slowly collecting evidence but Brennan only knew one way: confrontation.

Brennan knocked on Booth's door unsure what she was even doing there. Before she had taken her trip to New Orleans she would never have even dreamt of doing this but then she'd lost a day and a friend - and also apparently her rationality.

"Hey." Booth said, looking a little surprised to see her there. "Thought you would have been in bed resting."

"I'm just on my way home." She said.

"Do you want to come in?" Booth asked, stepping aside to let her through whilst giving her a charming smile.

Brennan shook her head. "No, I'm not here for long. I just wanted to ask you something."

"Okay." Booth said giving her a curious look and waiting patiently for her to continue. She looked nervous and not quite in control of herself.

"Why are you so nice to me?" Brennan asked, wringing her hands together edgily.

Booth frowned and gave a chuckle. "Haven't we been over this before?"

Brennan shook her head. "Why?" She repeated, shifting her weight from foot to foot, wanting to stop herself from speaking but was unable to. "Why do you believe in me so much? Why did you risk your career for me? Why did you come out to help me with Angela and Kirk's case just because I asked you to? Why are you so obsessed with my safety to the point where you interrogate my dates? Why do you put up with me even though I disagree with almost everything you say? Why didn't you even hesitate to use your free time to look over my parents' case? Why did you break out of hospital and insist on coming to the warehouses to find me although you could barely walk? Why do you have unconditional belief in me?" _Why am I here right now asking you this?_

Booth didn't say anything for a long time. He just stood there, his face registering mild shock, his eyes flicking from her face to the empty space behind her and then back again like he couldn't decide what to do.

She clenched her fists hard, praying that he would say something, anything to prove Angela wrong. She wanted him to just break into laughter at her speech of a mad woman, she wanted him to make a joke about how the voodoo drugs had made her head go funny, she wanted him to tell her she was reading too much into nothing. And yet, somewhere deep down a small part of herself wanted her not to be right for once.

Booth took a step closer to her and he reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. It was just a small thing and yet it was enough to send her into overdrive.

"I don't think you're ready to hear my answer yet." He said quietly, looking into her eyes deeply.

Nothing registered at first except confusion at his cryptic words and then suddenly she found her chest tighten and she could hardly breathe. Was he saying that …. No he couldn't be …. No, no, no, no, no. It just wasn't _rational. _She was Dr Temperance Brennan the socially inept lab rat with no charm whatsoever and he was a charming, handsome FBI Agent who all the girls wanted and all the guys wanted to be ………………………………

Brennan had no idea whether she hugged him first or he pulled her towards him but she found herself in his arms and she clung to him tightly.

Then he pulled away slightly and dropped a soft kiss on her forehead. "Get some rest Temperance." He said, his eyes containing all the emotion that was empty from his voice.

She stumbled back and swallowed hard. "Thank you." She said and that was all she could say.

It did prove something. And it turned her world upside down.

**A/N:- This turned out a little more 'woah' than I intended. I'm not sure what that means exactly except I wrote this at 3am on an overdose of caffeine and when I re-read it the next day I realised that the fic had taken a life of its own.**

**As always feedback is appreciated.**


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